The River of Blood

The Second Book of Moses Called Exodus
Chapter 7

The River of Blood Bible Study Lesson
The Nile River Turned to Blood Bible Story

Thanks for being here with us at Daily Bread. Glad to have you join us for another story from the book of Exodus. When we left off last time, God told Moses to go back to Pharaoh a second time and tell him to let His people go. Moses, still not convinced that he was the man for the job asked God, Why should Pharaoh listen to me, of all people?

God answered, You see, I have made you a god to Pharaoh and Aaron will be your prophet. You'll tell Aaron everything that I say and Aaron will tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart and show many signs in the land of Egypt, but Pharaoh won't listen to you. I will lay my hand upon Egypt (when God says something is done by His hand, it means by His power) and bring out my armies, and my people out of Egypt with great justice. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.

So Moses and Aaron did what the Lord told them to do. Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they went to speak to Pharaoh. Forty years has passed since Moses killed the Egyptian.

The River of Blood Bible Study Warning
The Nile River Turned to Blood Bible Story Curses

Now you may be wondering, because it's been mentioned a few times now, why did God harden Pharaoh's heart. Well, these were God's people and He not only wanted to free them from slavery in Egypt but He also wanted to show the Egyptians that He is God. You can bet that the Egyptians wouldn't believe it if Pharaoh let over 600,000 slaves go free just because an 80 year old man suddenly showed up on Pharaoh's doorstep one day out of nowhere with his big brother and said, okey dokey, you're gonna free all the Israelites that have slaved for the last 430 years making Egypt a rich nation.

You can see that it just couldn't happen that way. No, ladies and gentlemen, God would have to show them a thing or ten. Don't forget about what God told Abraham about blessing those who blessed him and cursing those who cursed him, Genesis 12:3. If you remember, when Joseph was alive in Egypt, the Pharaoh at that time was kind to Israel, Genesis 47:5-6, and Egypt prospered better than any other nation through the great famine. Egypt wasn't going to get away with the imprisoning of God's people without some consequences. Just a little Daily Bread Crumb for ya.

The River of Blood Bible Study Dangers
The Nile River Turned to Blood Bible Story Concerns

Getting back to our story, God told Moses, Pharaoh will want you to show him a miracle. You will tell Aaron, Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh and it'll become a serpent. So they went in to Pharaoh and did what the Lord told them in front of Pharaoh and his servants and the staff became a serpent.

Pharaoh called on his wise men and wizards and the magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their witchery. They all threw down their staffs and they became serpents, but Aaron's staff swallowed up all of theirs.

And God hardened Pharaoh's heart and told Moses, Pharaoh is stubborn, he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning. He will be going to the river. You will wait at the river's edge until he gets there. Take the staff with you that was turned into a serpent. You will say to him, The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to you saying, Let my people go so they may serve me in the wilderness, and you wouldn't listen. Now the Lord says, By this you will know that I am the Lord, watch, I will take the staff in my hand and strike the water in the river and it will turn to blood. The fish in the river will die, the water will stink and the Egyptians will hate to drink the water.

The River of Blood Bible Study Curse
The Nile River Turned to Blood Bible Story Fears

The Lord told Moses, Tell Aaron to take your staff and stretch out your hand on the waters of Egypt, on their streams, on their rivers, on their ponds and on all their pools of water so they all may turn to blood and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, both in containers of wood and of stone.

So Moses and Aaron did so, and all the waters of Egypt turned to blood. The fish died, the river stank and the Egyptians couldn't drink the water. There was blood throughout all of Egypt.

The magicians of Egypt did the same with their witchery and Pharaoh's heart was hardened. He didn't listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. (We'll be learning a bit more about these magicians in a later chapter.)

Pharaoh went home and didn't let the matter bother him at all. Pride is a very stubborn thing to overcome. The Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink because the water in the river was undrinkable.

The River of Blood Bible Study Summary
The Nile River Turned to Blood Bible Story Conclusion

This was the first plague that God inflicted upon Egypt. The trust Moses has in God seems to be strengthening as he sees the Lord working through him. A heartless Pharaoh makes things much worse however as time goes on, so be sure to come back and see what happens next as we continue our study of the Book of Exodus here at Daily Bread.